Sweet new store coming to downtown Middletown

In February, Amanda Nichols, 21, and her mother Tammy Nichols will be opening a new bakery on Main Street, Half Baked Patisserie.

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By Kim Manahan

Middletown Transcript

By Kim Manahan

Posted Dec. 31, 2012 at 4:00 AM

By Kim Manahan

Posted Dec. 31, 2012 at 4:00 AM

Middletown, Del.

If you have a sweet tooth, there's a cure for that coming to Middletown.

In February, Amanda Nichols, 21, and her mother Tammy Nichols will be opening a new bakery on Main Street, Half Baked Patisserie.

The new family owned business will be run out of what used to be E's on Main Street and everything will be made from scratch on the premise, the Nichols' said. A soft opening is planned for the first week of February.

"We don't want to miss Valentine's Day," Tammy said.

Cookies and cupcakes will be the main focus, but cakes will be able to be specially ordered.

The Middletown mother-daughter duo has been running their pastry business from their kitchen in The Legends for the past few months, but they have quickly outgrown working from the comfort of home.

Unlike popular reality television shows where bakers focus on the appearance of their deserts, the cakes, cookies, and cupcakes at Half Baked Patisserie will be more taste-oriented than anything.

"I make things that taste good," said Amanda Nichols, who recently graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta in Georgia with an Associates degree in Baking and Pastry. "I'm not into decorating – I'd rather make something completely edible."

The 21-year-old said that she just perfected her vanilla cake recipe, which she tinkered with throughout college. She has been baking since the age of four.

Amanda wants her baking to taste exactly how she tells her customers it will. But she said that her creations will still look good too.

In March, Amanda and Tammy began their home-based business.

They advertised, got a business license, and began to build their clientele.

Cupcakes and cookies fill the entire kitchen, making it near impossible to cook anything else, the women said. Only a dozen cupcakes could be baked on once in their oven at home, so when orders for 40 to 50 came in, the oven would be running for about four hours.

Then the cake pieces would be set up all along their horseshoe shaped kitchen at home as the two would decorated each piece by hand.

"We have no cabinet space left," Tammy said. "It has overflowed to the counter."

As her final project in college, Amanda had to create a business plan for a bakery – from scratch.

She had to figure out the food, cost, schedule, marketing, and everything else.

"We have everything done, we just need to change some things now," she said.

They also needed to find a permanent home for Half Baked Patisserie.

At first, they looked at the old storefront on Green Street where Bing's Bakery was. But it wouldn't work for the Nichols' because restrictions did not allow baking to be done on the premise.

Page 2 of 2 - Then when E's closed, they saw the perfect opportunity.

"Amanda wanted to start her business in her hometown," Tammy said.

After tracking down the landlord, a lease was signed and the first month's rent and security deposit was paid.

Amanda had saved up the money from working out of their family kitchen to put the payment down.

Half Baked Patisserie will be opened six days a week – the permanent schedule has yet to be finalized.

The women play on holding events at their storefront, from cupcake happy hours, to cake decorating classes, to lady's night out.

"There is a lot in the works," Amanda said. "We will continue to introduce new things over time and continue to add on."